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Report of an excursion to Tonbridge
E. W. HANDCOCK,
place beneath a heap of pit-talus and town refuse. However this may be, what was actually seen here, together with other evidence mentioned above, is sufficient to show that this Lower Greensand tract was well populated in prehistoric times, and has an interest from that point of view as well as from a purely geological one. The company then moved off into Faringdon, where tea was taken at the White Hart. Votes of thanks having been accorded, on the proposition of the President, to the Director and to Mr. T. W. Reader, who acted as Excursion Secretary, the few minutes remaining before the departure of the train were spent in strolling about the town. Objects of interest noted were tlre old Town Hall, with its curiously weathered stone pillars, and the ironwork on the south door of the Parish Church, the material of which it was suggested might well have come from the excavations of Cole's Pits. REFERENCES. Ordnance Survey Maps, t-inch scale. Sheet 253. Ordnance Survey Maps, 6-inch scale, Quarter-Sheets Berkshire, 8 S.W. and 13 N.W. Geological Survey Maps (Old Series), Sheets 13 and 34· 1907. TREACHER, LL.-" Report of Excursion to Faringdon.... Proc. Geol, Assoc., vol. xx, pp. 115-12I. To which refer for earher papers. 1909. GREGORY, J. W.-" Catalogue of Cretaceous Bryozoa in the British Museum," vol. 2. 1910. WHITE, H. J. OSBORNE.-" Geology in the Field," pp. 216.220, sketch map on p. 217. 1912. HAWKINS, HERBE~T L.-" The Species of Cidaris from the Lower Greensand of Faringdon." Ceo!. Mag., December No., pp. 529540. 1913. WOODS, H.-" British Cretaceous Lamellibranchia." Pakeont. Soc. Gives figures and descriptions of all the Faringdon species.
REPORT OF AN EXCURSION TO TONBRlDGE. SATURDAY, MAY 31ST, 1913.
By E. W.
HANDCOCK,
B.Sc., F.G.S., Director of the Excursion.
THE party, numbering 32, reached Tonbridge at 2.30 p.m., and at once proceeded to the works of the Quarry Hill Brick Company, about half a mile distant. A point was selected by the Director close to the 3oo-foot contour line, and here a description was given of : (I) The Greensand Escarpment, visible to the north, withthe Shode Valley draining southwards and the Medway Valley north-
EXCURSION TO TONBRIDGE.
57
wards. The day being particularly clear, such distant points as Tilburstow Hill and Toys Hill were easily visible, as well as White Hill, near Caterham, Old Terry's Lodge, and Wrotham Hill on the Chalk Escarpment farther north. (2) The succession of the Hastings Sand series, with special reference to the strike fault on the spot. The hade of the fault sloping towards the lower bed, thus enabling a borehole to pass twice through the same stratum, showed the fault to be a reversed one. The bending over of the Ashdown Sand near the fault is very striking. It was explained that the fault to be seen later in the day in the Tunbridge Wells railway cutting is normal. Here the Ashdown Sand, owing to the upthrust, comes to the surface much farther north than in its normal outcrop. (3) Alluding to the mineral and fossil contents of the Wadhurst clay. The Director said he had collected, for facilitating matters, specimens of the various objects of interest, and indicated the portions of the two sections. in which each could be obtained and studied in situ. These included nodules of clay ironstone in various stages of weathering, Cyrena and Paludina Limestone, specimens of cone-in-cone structure, Entomostraca and Equisetum. After 40 minutes spent in examining the sections and collecting specimens, the party proceeded to Vauxhall Lane to view the normal fault before-mentioned. This is seen in the railway cutting immediately south of the short tunnel just outside Tonbridge Railway Station. This fault, and in fact all the sections in the five miles of railway between Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, have been described in detail by Prestwick and Morris, Quart. flurn. Geoi. Soc., vol. ii, 1846. A visit was next made to another section of Wadhurst clay at Castle Hill Brickyard. Here further specimens of Paludina and Cyrena Limestone were obtained, and some good specimens of ripple-marked sandstone were seen. The party next proceeded to the top of Castle Hill to inspect the site ofa Neolithic Settlement. This is situated on an isolated eminence at 420 O.D., and commands an excellent view of the country from Caterham in the north-west to the Wye Downs on the east. It consists of a particularly well-defined entrenchment almost surrounding a field of about 10 acres, the trench being now from 14 feet to 16 feet deep in places, and from 20 feet to 30 feet across at the top. The director has found numerous implements on the site belonging to various periods-all Neolithic-and the general impression seemed to be that it must have been a camp of refuge. It is an ideal spot for a settlement, as it is situated on an outlier of Tunbridge Wells Sand, and has an excellent water supply, many springs coming through at the junction of the sand with the underlying Wadhurst clay.
R E V. E.
HILL,
On the return journey the opportunity was seized, when passing through Somerhill Park, of enjoying the magnificent view of th e middle Medway Valley and the east ern portion of- the Greensand E scar pmen t. From a spo t about 400 fee t O.D. can be seen a large port ion of the famo us hop district of K ent in the neighbour hood of H adlow, E ast Peekham, Ca pel, Paddock Wood and Yald ing, the chief cent res of the hop industry. Tea was partaken of at the Angel Hotel, Tonbndge, where the usu al vote of thanks to th e Director was passed. Miss E. Pearse acted as Secretary for the Excursion.
REPORT
By the
R E V.
OF
AN
EXCURSION (SUFFOLK).
TD
SUDBURY
E. HILL, l\LA., F.G.S., Director of the E x cursion,
TEN London memb ers reached Sudbury soon after I I .45 a.m., and were joined there by others from Cambridge, Bury St. Edmunds, Ipswi ch, and Sudbury itself. The party included Mr. W. Whitaker and Mr. F. J. Bennett, who had carried out the Geol ogical Survey, also Professor Bonney. The first walk was two miles south to the Little Cornard Brick-pits. In the se it was seen that Thanet Beds have been eroded, and on them have be en laid down curr ent-bedded gravel s with a general dip away from the pres ent river, as if in a sidechannel of the old valley. Against these gravels lies ston eless clay, which has been largely dug away for brick-making, and in this clay, as shown in the further wall of the pit, are embedded several boulders, apparently of chalk. They are rounded and very large , one reaching 30 ft. in length and 8 ft . or 10 ft. in depth. The mat erial, apparently chalk, on examination was pronounced to contain recent shells, so must be chalky mud or chalk re-mad e, not original chalk. A pit a few hundred yard s up an adjacent lane sho wed a section of Banded Clays (Woolwich and Reading Beds). Mr. Whitaker here pointed out th e effects of downhill crec>p on the bands. Thence the party walked back to Sudbury, and, after a halt for sandwiches, went on through the town and over the bridge. up Rallingdon Hill to the sand-pit there. The current-bedded sands of this pit were being work ed, so were seen in a perfectly fresh and very fine section. The overlying Boulder-clay showed
place beneath a heap of pit-talus and town refuse. However this may be, what was actually seen here, together with other evidence mentioned above, is sufficient to show that this Lower Greensand tract was well populated in prehistoric times, and has an interest from that point of view as well as from a purely geological one. The company then moved off into Faringdon, where tea was taken at the White Hart. Votes of thanks having been accorded, on the proposition of the President, to the Director and to Mr. T. W. Reader, who acted as Excursion Secretary, the few minutes remaining before the departure of the train were spent in strolling about the town. Objects of interest noted were tlre old Town Hall, with its curiously weathered stone pillars, and the ironwork on the south door of the Parish Church, the material of which it was suggested might well have come from the excavations of Cole's Pits. REFERENCES. Ordnance Survey Maps, t-inch scale. Sheet 253. Ordnance Survey Maps, 6-inch scale, Quarter-Sheets Berkshire, 8 S.W. and 13 N.W. Geological Survey Maps (Old Series), Sheets 13 and 34· 1907. TREACHER, LL.-" Report of Excursion to Faringdon.... Proc. Geol, Assoc., vol. xx, pp. 115-12I. To which refer for earher papers. 1909. GREGORY, J. W.-" Catalogue of Cretaceous Bryozoa in the British Museum," vol. 2. 1910. WHITE, H. J. OSBORNE.-" Geology in the Field," pp. 216.220, sketch map on p. 217. 1912. HAWKINS, HERBE~T L.-" The Species of Cidaris from the Lower Greensand of Faringdon." Ceo!. Mag., December No., pp. 529540. 1913. WOODS, H.-" British Cretaceous Lamellibranchia." Pakeont. Soc. Gives figures and descriptions of all the Faringdon species.
REPORT OF AN EXCURSION TO TONBRlDGE. SATURDAY, MAY 31ST, 1913.
By E. W.
HANDCOCK,
B.Sc., F.G.S., Director of the Excursion.
THE party, numbering 32, reached Tonbridge at 2.30 p.m., and at once proceeded to the works of the Quarry Hill Brick Company, about half a mile distant. A point was selected by the Director close to the 3oo-foot contour line, and here a description was given of : (I) The Greensand Escarpment, visible to the north, withthe Shode Valley draining southwards and the Medway Valley north-
EXCURSION TO TONBRIDGE.
57
wards. The day being particularly clear, such distant points as Tilburstow Hill and Toys Hill were easily visible, as well as White Hill, near Caterham, Old Terry's Lodge, and Wrotham Hill on the Chalk Escarpment farther north. (2) The succession of the Hastings Sand series, with special reference to the strike fault on the spot. The hade of the fault sloping towards the lower bed, thus enabling a borehole to pass twice through the same stratum, showed the fault to be a reversed one. The bending over of the Ashdown Sand near the fault is very striking. It was explained that the fault to be seen later in the day in the Tunbridge Wells railway cutting is normal. Here the Ashdown Sand, owing to the upthrust, comes to the surface much farther north than in its normal outcrop. (3) Alluding to the mineral and fossil contents of the Wadhurst clay. The Director said he had collected, for facilitating matters, specimens of the various objects of interest, and indicated the portions of the two sections. in which each could be obtained and studied in situ. These included nodules of clay ironstone in various stages of weathering, Cyrena and Paludina Limestone, specimens of cone-in-cone structure, Entomostraca and Equisetum. After 40 minutes spent in examining the sections and collecting specimens, the party proceeded to Vauxhall Lane to view the normal fault before-mentioned. This is seen in the railway cutting immediately south of the short tunnel just outside Tonbridge Railway Station. This fault, and in fact all the sections in the five miles of railway between Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, have been described in detail by Prestwick and Morris, Quart. flurn. Geoi. Soc., vol. ii, 1846. A visit was next made to another section of Wadhurst clay at Castle Hill Brickyard. Here further specimens of Paludina and Cyrena Limestone were obtained, and some good specimens of ripple-marked sandstone were seen. The party next proceeded to the top of Castle Hill to inspect the site ofa Neolithic Settlement. This is situated on an isolated eminence at 420 O.D., and commands an excellent view of the country from Caterham in the north-west to the Wye Downs on the east. It consists of a particularly well-defined entrenchment almost surrounding a field of about 10 acres, the trench being now from 14 feet to 16 feet deep in places, and from 20 feet to 30 feet across at the top. The director has found numerous implements on the site belonging to various periods-all Neolithic-and the general impression seemed to be that it must have been a camp of refuge. It is an ideal spot for a settlement, as it is situated on an outlier of Tunbridge Wells Sand, and has an excellent water supply, many springs coming through at the junction of the sand with the underlying Wadhurst clay.
R E V. E.
HILL,
On the return journey the opportunity was seized, when passing through Somerhill Park, of enjoying the magnificent view of th e middle Medway Valley and the east ern portion of- the Greensand E scar pmen t. From a spo t about 400 fee t O.D. can be seen a large port ion of the famo us hop district of K ent in the neighbour hood of H adlow, E ast Peekham, Ca pel, Paddock Wood and Yald ing, the chief cent res of the hop industry. Tea was partaken of at the Angel Hotel, Tonbndge, where the usu al vote of thanks to th e Director was passed. Miss E. Pearse acted as Secretary for the Excursion.
REPORT
By the
R E V.
OF
AN
EXCURSION (SUFFOLK).
TD
SUDBURY
E. HILL, l\LA., F.G.S., Director of the E x cursion,
TEN London memb ers reached Sudbury soon after I I .45 a.m., and were joined there by others from Cambridge, Bury St. Edmunds, Ipswi ch, and Sudbury itself. The party included Mr. W. Whitaker and Mr. F. J. Bennett, who had carried out the Geol ogical Survey, also Professor Bonney. The first walk was two miles south to the Little Cornard Brick-pits. In the se it was seen that Thanet Beds have been eroded, and on them have be en laid down curr ent-bedded gravel s with a general dip away from the pres ent river, as if in a sidechannel of the old valley. Against these gravels lies ston eless clay, which has been largely dug away for brick-making, and in this clay, as shown in the further wall of the pit, are embedded several boulders, apparently of chalk. They are rounded and very large , one reaching 30 ft. in length and 8 ft . or 10 ft. in depth. The mat erial, apparently chalk, on examination was pronounced to contain recent shells, so must be chalky mud or chalk re-mad e, not original chalk. A pit a few hundred yard s up an adjacent lane sho wed a section of Banded Clays (Woolwich and Reading Beds). Mr. Whitaker here pointed out th e effects of downhill crec>p on the bands. Thence the party walked back to Sudbury, and, after a halt for sandwiches, went on through the town and over the bridge. up Rallingdon Hill to the sand-pit there. The current-bedded sands of this pit were being work ed, so were seen in a perfectly fresh and very fine section. The overlying Boulder-clay showed